In the early 1980s, after an overnight stop at a GAF base, I was waiting to depart to Gutersloh in my Puma, after waiting for the F-104 "weathership" to land. ATC had heard him call finals but he didn't appear on the runway or go around. After a short time it was announced that he had "landed" short of the runway, in decreasing visibility turning to very shallow fog. We were asked to get airborne and search the approach path to the threshold to see if we could find the pilot as the fire trucks hadn't yet arrived on the scene; he was outside the airfield perimeter.
I climbed to about 400 or 500 feet and we could see straight down through the fog, it was very shallow. We found the aircraft straight away.
Unfortunately, it was immediately obvious that he had hit the substantial wooden approach light poles at a very shallow angle, the aircraft was in very small pieces and his remains were still in the cockpit. The fog was very shallow and it appeared to us that he had begun a visual approach, but become disorientated in the poor vis about a mile out as he entered the fog. He then got too low, hit a pole and it was all over for him. The weather was gin clear except for that small area of shallow fog on the aproach. Shame he didn't land in the other direction; the wind was very light.
The annoying thing is, I do recall the airfield was south of the RAF "Clutch" stations but just can't remember the name of it. I do remember that at the other (western) end of the runway, there was a very steep drop where the naturally falling ground had been infilled to extend the original runway length.
Anyone help with that one?
